a rose bud

this card was so easy it's not funny! The rose bud is actually made from two bird bodies from the new Two Step Bird Punch that has just been released from Stampin' Up! The punch has the bird, the wing (which I have used for the greenery thingy at the base of the rose) and the stalk with leaves. You will see a lot of this punch being used all over the blogs at the moment.

You might not see as I used glossy cardstock, but I have sponged the all the parts. The dotty background is also a new release for the Big Shot machine, I love the perfect dots that it gives. I decided to keep with the black to help the rose stand out. The sentiment is one of the Tweeny Tiny Sentiments set which I have stamped with Versamark and embossed with white.

Thanks for visiting, see you again soon.

I saw this idea in a magazine and thought I would give it a go. Easier said than done as it didn't have instructions! so guess who spent the afternoon trying to work it out!! But I did it - phew!

It was quiet easy -once you know how! lol

The stamp is from one of the new hostess sets called Asian Artistry. These Hostess Sets are free when you host a workshop with qualifying sales. I also used In-Colour textured card stock to give it a different feel. The ribbon has just retired but it is so pretty I just had to use it!

Contact me today to find out how you can earn free hostess stamps and free hostess dollars you can spend on ANY item in the catalogue.

julia.leece@slingshot.co.nz

vintage mothers day card

I decided I wanted to enter the challenge this week over on the Just Add Ink blog. The theme this week was 'vintage' so it was the perfect excuse to get out one of my favourite sets - Rustic Rooster. He is just so cute and the stamp set includes the scrip stamp that I have used for the background. The hard was silver, I just dipped it on the Versamark stamp pad then into white embossing powder and heat set it, comes out perfect! The white flowers from the Pretties Kit got dunked into the cup of herbal tea I was nearly finished drinking (I left the rest! lol) and then dried with the heat gun, it just took the whiteness away from them and made them match the vanilla half pearls better. The lace is the eyelet board gone thru the crimper and the ribbon is vanilla silk. The base of the card is Vanilla Confetti (one of my favourites) and the other card is Soft Suede. If you want to see some of the other awesome projects that have been entered into the challenge or you would like to enter yourself just click on the badge on the right to go direct to the site.

Thanks again.

pillow box die bucket

this is such a cool project - its made from three of the pillow box cut outs that I sticky stripped together to form a bucket. I used the Vintage Vogue stamp set with the matching jumbo wheel.

The colours are Baja Breeze and Very Vanilla with Choc Chip ink. I did use a bit of Creamy Caramel on the flowers. The rock and roll method is where you ink up a stamp in a lighter colour then roll the edges of it in a darker ink.

Imagine this filled with chocolates! YUMMY!

What a neat project for Mother's Day - any present that includes chocolate has got to be good!

see you tomorrow.

Julia

Pillow Boxes

Stampin' Up! has introduced some cool dies to go with the new BIG SHOT machine. I have used the die to make these two boxes. There is a cool trick to make an extended box, so why not contact me to arrange a workshop so I can show you in person how easy these are to make!

Also I am having a BIG SHOT workshop at my place in June which will be free to anyone who has ordered a BIG SHOT machine thru me by then. I will show you a heap of neat projects that you can recreate at home and how to get the most out of your machine. So book now by ordering your BIG SHOT. As a special I am offering free postage on all machines ordered by the end of May.

Come back tomorrow to see what else you can make from the pillow box die!

Tess has gone country!

I promise not to start singing Osmond songs!!! lol

I have made up a acetate cut out of Tess so when I pick what DSP I want to use for her skirt I trace around it on the back of the DSP, then I cut out around the image the shape I want for the skirt and it ensures I am covering all her normal clothes.

Tess just had to be a good hostess and offer a lovely cupcake - so the 'crazy for cupcake' stamp set came in handy!

Just add a bit of ribbon and brads and shes all served up!

Thanks for visiting - I have some yummy more projects to show you so keep checking in!

all glammed up!

I just love this new stamp set - "tote-ally tess"!

Tonight she is dressed up for a night on the town! I drew her dress over the stamped image with a sharpie! hehe Then added her bracelet's and diamante belt! Mounted her on gold metallic card stock which I embossed.

I am looking forward to designing more outfits for her!

handmade background stamp

Here is another background stamp I made using the left over stamping rubber from mounting my Stampin' Up! stamps. I just cut the rubber into small pieces and stuck them on a wooden block. This one I butted them as close to each other as I could as opposed to the one I showed you yesterday. Hopefully you can see the subtle background on the Kraft in the close up photo.

The card itself is Kraft, Whisper White and Pink Pirouette. The word stamp is from the Level 2 Hostess set Echoes of Kindness which you can get for free if you host a workshop or place a order over $NZ700, contact me today if you want to know more as along with a free stamp set there is over $NZ80 of free products of your choice with that too! WOW we all love free stuff!

The buttons I made using one of the new dies that go with our lovely Big Shot machine. I cut them out of Bella Rose DSP and covered them Crystal Effect to make the smooth and shining! A bit of Pink Pirouette ribbon, some flowers pearl from our Pretties Kit, a but of sponging and the card is done!

Thanks for visiting and we will see you tomorrow.

mosaic background

At a team training event recently another demo had made a background stamp made out of cut up bits of leftover rubber so I thought I needed to have a go. Go visit Karen's website http://www.karenstampz.co.nz/

My one is more like an actual mosaic with a gap between each piece although I think I will make another one where the pieces are jammed up to each other which would create a more textured look (look back tomorrow of it!) .

What I did do thought with this card was I sponged the ink directly on to the stamp, this adds a bit of depth I think. It was nice to be finally able to use this cute stamps set "D is for Dog". It is a must for any doggy lover, it has some great stamps including the words I've included here which is lovely to be able to give someone who has lost their beloved pet.

Contact me if you would like to know more!

mothers days voucher book

this project is what we are making at our next class on April 26. It has 6 vouchers inside that are perforated so the bearer can rip them out and use. They are things like 'a home baked cake', 'a free car wash' even 'a free cuddle'! You can put whatever you would like. Of cause you aren't restricted to Mother's Day, you could make one for ANY occasion! Mother's Day is the second Sunday in May in New Zealand so not far away now. My mothers birthday is always the week before and make gift giving a week later hard so I am sure she would appreciate something like this than some store bought item - well I am hoping anyway! lol

I used 5th Avenue stamp set to create the background paper on Whisper White - using the colours Rich Razzleberry, Mambo Mango and Certainly Celery. The flowers are from the pretties kit, I used Rich Razzleberry ribbon with a square brad to make the bow feature. The cutting tool was a great tool to use on this project as it has a perforating blade in it to make it professional looking!

If you haven't already book now for the class next Monday on julia.leece@slingshot.co.nz

Suitcase Box

Oh did I have fun with this project! I saw a magazine picture of a box that had the box with corner bits on it and thought I could make a suit case with it too! I just made a standard lidded box and attached it at the back with the two ovals. I used Soft Suede and Chocolate Chip card stock. I did sponge the Suede before I made up the box.

The 'travel stickers' on the top are all Stampin' Up! stamps but I have just picked bits out of say two stamps (mostly Art by Design) and put them together. Having a Stamp-in-ma-jig makes it possible, along with Stampin' Up! markers to ink up just the part of the stamp you want. The 'name tag' is also part of the Art by Design set but I have just punched out the single word with the new Tiny Tag punch- isn't it the cutes punch!

Sorry that the photo of the back of the case isn't my usual 'stone' background - it just started raining after I took the first pic! So you get a view of one of the lanterns at my front door! hehe

This will be the hostess gift for the next hostess who books a workshop after seeing this blog. Inside is some lovely bathing products that will be like you are on your own vacation! Contact me today julia.leece@slingshot.co.nz

Autumn Days

One of the new stamp sets in the latest Autumn & Winter mini is called Autumn Days. Its got some lovely elements in it, including this lovely pheasant, along with the grasses. I have stamped the bird in Rich Razzleberry which is one of the new colours Stampin' Up! has introduced. One of the other colours is Soft Suede which is the other colour in this card. I think they are so yummy together! I had to pop a bit of sponging on it too!

All the stamps, bar the background stamp, in the new mini are available in both traditional wood mounted or new clear mounted. They both are still the high quality rubber images, but the clear mounted stamps are used with clear blocks. They come in DVD style containers so they take up less room. Isn't it great that you have the option now! Contact me if you want to order this set or learn more about clear mounted stamps. julia.leece@slingshot.co.nz

now for something completely different!

last weekend at our team training we held a wee baby shower for one of the demo's who's having a baby girl next month so I jumped at the opportunity to make a 'nappy cake'! Or a 'diaper cake' for those on the other side of the world!

Its made with rolled up disposables and decorated to look like a 3 tier cake. I used the butterfly punch that was in the just retired Summer Mini but is still available to purchase, just $35.95 for instant butterfly's! I covered them in Dazzling Diamonds to - why not! hehe

It was so much fun to make, now all I need is more friends to have babies so I can make more!

two step bird punch

now for something I have made!! These cards I made to go with the orders that I dropped off at my last hostess's place. I always do 'thank you' cards for orders I receive at workshops. One of the new punches from the new mini catalogue has three items on it - the bird, the birds wing and the branch. The can be used together or separate. Check out the tulip card card below in the swaps by Bev Poultney -she used just the birds wing! Its great to have these fabulous tools - and as a Stampin' Up! demonstrator you can get the new products not only at a discounted price but earlier to play with them! Why not join my team - there are many more benefits than I can list here but its a great team to enjoy the journey together!

last few

more yummy cards.

this card by Rachael was a thank you card she gave me at the training - what a privilege to receive on of these pieces of art!

This card I got in the mail from my Secret Sister - isn't it lovely!

some more!!

so cool and all using things from the new mini catty.

more yummy cards

might do several posts today to show them all. Enjoy and remember to visit their blogs too.

cards cards and more cards

yesturday we had a Creative Inkers team training and many of us had made swaps, so I came home with heaps of fabulous creations! I will show about 5 per day for the next few days. Please visit their blogs and websites as they are all very talented! they will be listed in alphabetical order of their first name.

Stamping with Bleach

I am home now from a lovely 8 days away at our family's bach at Snells Beach. Very relaxing! But I am very happy to be home near my craft room! hehe
This is a card I made for a Creative Inkers training session today. We do 'swaps' for each event - that's where you make 20 in this case of the same card and swap with 20 other people and end up with 20 different samples. So I hope to take lots of photos to share with you later.
This card I used bleach to create the cloud on the Soft Suede card stock. Its really fun! Then using the solid stamp (from Big Bold Birthday) I stamped like you would do with an ink pad. Before your eyes the colour develops!
The Little Leaves ($12.95NZ) is the leaf die from the new Autumn-Winter mini catalogue and so is the word stamp Heard from the Heart ($45.95 wood mounted $35.95 clear block) that I stamped directly onto the twill tape. Its tied with some hemp thread. I used the Weathered background stamp onto Cream Confetti cardstock. The card base is So Saffron which is virtually the colour the Soft Suede card bleaches too!
Hope you all have a great Saturday and get time to do some crafting!
Let me know if you would like to book a workshop at your home to learn how to stamp with bleach.

paper bag purse

I just remembered that I took this photo of a cute project that I have been playing around with using paper bags. I used the top note big shot die to create the outside, trimmed the bag to fit between the two and punch large oval for the handle. I used Melon Mambo card base and Rich Razzleberry ink. I am in love with these new colours - thank you Stampin' Up!!!!!

I used the yummy new stamp set called Cottage Garden for the flowers and the tag which I punched out with the petite tag punch. I used a new punch called Two Step Bird punch for the leaves behind the flowers. These are new sleek styled punches which a easier to use (esp for some of us with weak hands and wrists!) and take up less room when storing them.

So again - happy Easter and may all the chocolate you need finds you on Sunday and if you have too much I am happy to take it off your hands! lol

Happy Easter Everyone

wishing you a long and relaxing weekend, I hope it is all you want it to be.

Personally we are having a week long family holiday together which I am looking forward to! My kids are growing up so fast so I want to be able to spend good quality time with them before they fly the roost. Although in saying that I am sure my too will stay at home for a while yet as it will always be cheaper! lol

So I may not get on the internet to post anything for the next week or so, so in the meantime get out all those craft supplies and start creating!

In the meantime I wanted to show you what I had for lunch yesturday. It was a belated birthday lunch with two of my longest closest friends - we had a great time, and the food was devine - thanks girls!

cheers

Julia

magic pony card

there's an old saying that says "today is the first day of the rest of your life" which is so true and so deep but today is the first day of the new Autumn-Winter Mini Catalogue! This booklet is FULL of some yummy goodies. I have had a wee play with some of the stamps but have only taken one photo so this is the one I will share with you today.

This little one is so cute - its called Pony Party and perfect for any young girl. I have used blender pens to colour the pony in then added bling on the body and crystal effects to the mayne and tail. I used the Big Shot to emboss the silver card (did you know Stampin' Up! have metallic card stock!). I have used two of the three new colours that have been introduced - a first for Stampin' Up!. They are Rich Razzleberry & Melon Mambo - Soft Suede has also been released. This is a quick little card which was fun to make and fun to receive!

see you tomorrow!

more watercolouring

these examples are created by drawing on the card stock with the pencils then using an aqua painter to blend the colours. The cat and butterfly images where stamped with Whisper White Craft ink first, then once dried (I used a heat tool to hurry up the exercise) you can colour with the pencils. Means you can turn a solid stamp into a detailed one if you want. Normal the cat one is used as a silhouette so with this technique I can change it.

I used Watercolour paper for the Upsy Daisy sunset card. Just coloured the card using the pencils straight and then brushed it out with the aqua painter. As you can see the aqua pen is a very useful tool. It is like a paint brush but you can fill it with water and it saves having a glass of water on your table, these often get knocked over ruining all your work. The Stampin' Up! set of Aqua Painters have got two brushes in the set- one with a medium tip, the other a large one and are great value at only $23.50NZ for the set. The water colour pencils are $44.95NZ for 24 assorted colours and in a great tin to protect them.

I used-

stampsets: C for Cat, Upsy Daisy, Inspired by Nature & Butterfly Prints.

ink: Whisper White craft, basic black & going grey.

paper: watercolour, basic black, whisper white, so saffron, ruby red, kraft & cream confetti

accessories: hemp twine, latte button, so saffron brads, basic black 1/4" ribbon

tools: crimper